October 5, 2012

"Plus it is flat. I have never seen a man's hanky be so uniform and flat coming from a front pant's pocket. Back pocket, yes, breast pocket in a jacket, yes.. but not the front pant pocket."

Daily Kos, theorizing that Romney had a "cheat sheet" during the debate, during which no notes were permitted.

It was a hanky. So Obama's would-be helpers — attempting to besmirch Romney — succeeded only calling attention, once again, to what nearly everybody thought they saw on Thursday: Romney's superior preparation, ability to think on his feet, and eloquence.

If you watched the debate you would have noticed Romney continually wiping perspiration off his upper lip. He didn't want to look like Nixon on TV. The white Nixon, not he black Nixon standing behind the other podium.

I have never seen a man's hanky be so uniform and flat coming from a front pant's pocket.

I mean, what is this?

(a) picture is not that clear that you could necessarily tell.

(b) my cotton handkerchieves(sp?) are pretty flat when they come out of my trouser pockets, whether front or back because (i) my trousers have pockets on the sides, not the front (not jeans), so the pocket contents don't crumple much when standing and sitting, (ii) the handkerchief cotton is stiff (I air-dry) and (iii) that's how I fold them after they finish drying.

Why on earth would anyone attempt anything like this when they know they have dozens of cameras looking at them from all angles, including angles they aren't aware of. How many pics of O's foot position were on the internet, for example? There's simply no freakin way. Plus, it was the other guy looking down all the time, not him.

I think it would be funny for Mitt to whip out a handkerchief and just do a really huge nose blow at the start of the next debate. Then he can offer the handkerchief to the President, in case he wants to check for answers.

"Those of us in the reality-based community don't like ... BLS truthers"

-- Don't you remember back in the dark, long ago years of 2002-2007 when we heard about how the pure unemployment number wasn't a good indicator of economic misery? I remember being taught the importance of reporting under employment, those who had given up looking, etc.

What changed in 2009 that the reality-based community stopped caring about the nuances around unemployment?

If you think birth control isn't a medical expense, I dare you to watch one episode of the UK's hit "Call the Midwife" (now on PBS) about C of E nuns and nurses who filled in the gaps as midwives in the 1950s baby boom. Yikes.

If the modern world has pacified you, this will help you remember that without the thin layer of modernity, birth control is a medical issue, folks. Remember how it took Katrina to remind some progressives that just below the civilized veneer, the Second Amendment is necessary? Same kind of thing.

The high altitude gave him fits of nose bleeds and so... Chakra released

The last time we had Kos Kids analyzing video imagery, they were claiming Zimmerman had no signs of injury. That was much better analysis than when they claimed a missile, not a plane, hit the Pentagon. Still, I think they ought to stop now while they are ahead.

Given the incestuous relationship between universities, media, and Democrats, I'm surprised the NY Times hasn't contacted Dietrich Fluffenhausen of the UC Berkley physics department, who specializes in handkerchief fabric dynamics, to weigh in.

How ugly of the Obama campaign...."He cheated""It was the altitude""He lied""Obama didn't want to appear to be an "angry black man" (cause he knows you crackers are all RACIST)"He was distracted over his anniversary"the latest...."He was distracted over a donations story OR he got a disturbing intelligence briefing"

Seriously though I thought Romney looked like he had a cold or allegies before this hubbub.

So, what they've pointed out is that even sick, Romney was able to easily beat Obama.

They are going to go positively scanners on us after the Biden/Ryan debate.

I expect Ryan to do well, but probably not as well as everyone is expecting. Biden is not like Obama. He's actually been an active participant in the political discussion for three decades. He's forgotten more about policy than Obama ever knew. He might not be good winging it, but the VP actually knows enough on the issues that, he could wing it without embarassing himself. Biden is more than just a set of cherry-picked talking points and a prep binder. His problem is self control, not cramming on subjects he knows nothing about. He's like the polar opposite of Obama.

Gene McCarthy once made what I thought was one of the most insightful observations about the Presidential electoral process and the artificiality of most debate formats insofar as they usually obscure more than they reveal when he said that: "What they should do is set each candidate down in a chair alone w.o. notes in front of the camera and just let him talk for a solid hour about his political beliefs." Think Obama could survive for one hour w.o. his teleprompter and remain coherent? McCarthy was on to something..

I wonder how many bytes of information can be compressed into a flat hanky? Romney graduated with an accelerated MBA law degree from Harvard and we are supposed to believe he can't remember a hankie's worth of information after days of preparation?

Suppose Obama really can't debate well? How will he overcome this mismatch?

He doesn't have to be a good debater to get a draw:

Q: What's your position on the Israeli/Palestinian issue?

A: That's a great question, Jim, but we shouldn't allow it to distract us from the fact that 1% of the country owns blah blah blah...

The problem is Obama has such a high opinion of himself he thought he could skip the debate prep and wing it. Then when he realized he was in trouble he was too proud to fight for a draw instead of trying to turn the tables on an obviously better prepared opponent.

I would bet everything I own we will see a much, much better prepared Obama in the next debate. There's nothing that sharpens the mind like a good ass-kicking.

The altitude gave Obama a nose bleed but Mitt stole His handkerchief so Obama used His awesome powers to hold off the bleeding but that increased His visionary insight into everything to so incredibly beyond what our low minds can comprehend. And from His lofty height it so pained Him to see Mitt lying that He kept looking down so as not to see the horrible sight of someone winning by cheating which was just too painful for someone who learned politics in Chicago-the-Pure. His foolish, doubting liberal friends thought he was missing TOTUS and losing the debate, until the next day when they saw how He could have won if He had been what they thought He was, and so He did win because He is. And they tingled again.

Hilarious esp the animated pic of Romney using the hanky, I can't stop laughing.

Looks like Obama's ardent supporters are as dumb as he is.

It makes sense for Romney to have the hanky on the lectern — imagine him reaching in his pocket for it every time he wants to use it. That will not look good on camera. Smart man he figured that out. He should be our president.

If there really were notes on that handkerchief and Romney could read them in small glances in the TV lights and they were extensive enough to cover every subject the debate could possibly cover I say Romney should win because he has superpowers.